My thoughts on poverty
right now

My opinions on many things change constantly now that
I’m a full time counselor, especially about poverty,
our country, socioeconomics.. stuff like that.
Working with kids and their families in their homes
and in day treatment has given me incredible insight
into why some kids act they way they do. It has also
given me insight into things like poverty and
classism, and how much those things can affects a
person’s mental health.

I used to generally believe that people need to do
more to help poor people (but that right there is an
abstract concept with no clear application). And
presto, I work in an industry funded by taxpayer
dollars (which does not take private insurance as
payment, and therefore services only those eligible
for tax-funded programs like Medicaid), attempting to
help people improve their own lives and raise their
kids with a better sense of personal responsibility
and work ethic and blah blah blah.. I and my
coworkers are a living and breathing example of how
America does indeed help the poor. My experience has
given me informed opinions about what Stephen Colbert
waxed on about. Strangely, or
not, this industry is full of employees who are
Christians (take that for what it is). Stephen
Colbert still had some good points about
following Christ’s example and helping the poor.
We are commanded to do that, just like Jesus
said. Trust me, if you have a job and pay taxes,
you’re helping the poor already. Of course, it’s
probably more the Christian thing to do to help
the poor of your own volition rather than wait
for the government to garnish your paycheck (or
to take a paycheck for it like my coworkers and
me). And it’s important to consider that
throwing tax dollars at the phenomenon of
“poverty” hasn’t changed the fact that people
are still poor. So, what’s not working (a bit of
reality therapy here)?

I want to help people not
with just financial assistance, but with new
ideas about what they themselves can do to
change their own course. I’m a fan of the “teach
a man to fish” end of things. But many of the
people I serve as a counselor don’t want to
learn “how to fish,” ‘cause once they do, their
providers will say, “Look. You can fish!! You
don’t need me to give these to you anymore!!”
Trouble is, in this economy, those proverbial
“fish” (jobs with living wages) are scarce. And
try as they might, it's harder in general for my
clients to break into the workforce 'cause of
racism, classism, cultural differences or any
number of fickle prerequisites.

Still, it is remarkable to me the abuses I’ve seen
done by people in my client base to their systems of
government aid. I’ve seen so many falsifications on
Medicaid applications, nondisclosures of income,
reports of “medical” conditions that anyone can fake
or even invent that it makes me wonder why we have
these assistances in place at all. Shoot, my brother
is a tax auditor and he sees rich people and
corporations make the same falsifications on their
own disclosures at tax time. When I see a family
living hand to mouth on government money drop a
couple thousand dollars on a giant television that
takes up half a wall, I’m like.. Wait a sec.. Aren’t
you guys hungry? Weren’t you just asking me to help
you get shoe and clothing donations for your kids?
WTF is up with that TV?!

People everywhere, no matter how rich or poor, have a
proclivity to lie, cheat and steal ‘cause it’s easier
than working and telling the truth. The clients I
work with know exactly what to tell me so I’ll write
a good report and say that the treatment is working
but they still need it for a while longer. If I can
focus on the kids, not just their parents, maybe I
can get some new ideas into their heads and they’ll
make different decisions than their parents made and
start ending various cycles. Stephen Colbert was
likely right. The only way to stop poverty and end
this massive contributing factor to what our culture
perceives are mental health issues is to follow
Christ’s example, not just in the giving, but in the
way we receive as well. There is only one Bible, and
nowhere in it does it tell people to lie around and
take while everyone else works.

It’s easy for me to tell a
client “work hard and your life will improve,”
but in many cases, while generally true, it
takes so much more than words, a smile and a
clipboard to help a family affect some positive
changes. It takes lots of time, lots of
learning, building relationships, patience and a
thorough understanding of what it means to grow
up poor. Poverty isn’t the only contributing
factor to mental health issues. And for Pete’s
sake, sometimes we’re not necessarily dealing
with people who are insane. If my training is
correct, and if behaviors stem from legitimate
needs, than my 14-year-old client who was
arrested for stealing personal hygiene items
wasn’t crazy or insane. He was just trying to
meet his needs ‘cause his parents don’t wake
till 3 in the afternoon or do jack squat to
provide for him. I want to see what alternatives
to a lifestyle exist before I tell a person or
an entire family to *POOF!* CHANGE! My insight
into the mental health and juvenile justice
systems is deeper these days, giving me a much
more informed opinion about my experience as a
camp counselor and the numerous reasons why the
kids I looked after were there.